Hoots Split Doubleheader with Thrillbillies

Thrillbillies’s offense too much in game one, but Hoots come back with complete effort in game two

Coming back from a six-game road trip, the O’Fallon Hoots (26-28, 11-16) welcomed the second half Prarie Land Division champions, the Thrillville Thrillbillies (31-20, 19-7), for a doubleheader on Tuesday, Aug. 1.

In game one, Thrillville handled business, taking the lead in the fourth inning and never looking back as they captured a 9-4 victory. The Hoots got their revenge in game two however, riding some situational offense and strong pitching to a 7-2 win.

Game One – Hoots Lose 9-4

Inside the Box Score

• Tyler Ferguson went 2-3 with an RBI
• Tucker Platt hit two doubles
• Christian Harvey struck out seven batters in his start on the mound 

How it Happened

• Thrillville got on the board in the first inning, on an RBI double off the bat of Jackson Cooke.
• In the bottom of the second inning, the Hoots took the lead on a pair of runs. John Stallcup walked with bases loaded to bring home Ferguson, later in the inning, O’fallon plated their second run on an RBI sacrifice flyout from Cameron Hailstone.
• Thrillville grasped the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Josh Griffin plated the first run on an RBI single, Kaleb Herbert grounded out to third to bring home a run, Jake Munroe then singled home a run, the scoring was concluded on a RBI sacrifice flyout from Michael Mylott.
• In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Hoots got a run back on an RBI single by Jake Vitale to score Platt, making it a 5-3 Thrillbillies lead.
• In the top of the seventh inning, Thrillville tacked on four more runs on one swing, a grand slam from Charlie Corum.
• The Hoots rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning for a run on an RBI single from Ferguson to make it 9-4 in favor of Thrillville.

Game Two – Hoots Win 7-2

Inside the Box Score

• Zach Beatty led all players with two RBIs. 
• Five other Hoots collected RBIs in the game: Chase Beattie, Michael Long, Tucker Platt, Tyson Ludwig, and Drew Mize.
• Griffin King was excellent in his Hoots debut, going four innings deep in his start while only allowing two hits and no earned runs. 

How It Happened

• The Hoots struck first in game two. Tyson Ludwig led the first inning off with a walk, stole a base, and advanced to third thanks to a Tyler Ferguson sacrifice bunt. Michael Long then drove Ludwig in with an RBI ground to give the Hoots a 1-0 lead. 
• In his second at-bat, Ludwig drew another walk, this coming in the third inning. Four straight free passes, either walks or hit by pitches, from Levin East scored two runs for the Hoots and loaded the bases. Zach Beatty grounded out to score another run, and Drew Mize knocked a fly-out into deep right for an RBI, setting the score at 5-0. 
• Offense finally came for Thrillville in the fifth inning. With one out, Jaden Correa doubled to reach scoring position before stealing third. Hayden Ralls then drew a walk. Back at the top of the lineup, Alex Wilson lined out to third baseman Brady Kindhart, but Kindhart threw the ball away when trying to throw to first base for a double play, allowing Correa to score and Ralls to move to second. A wild pitch then advanced Ralls to third, and Ralls continued running home when catcher Matthew Arnold’s pickoff attempt of Ralls at third went into left field. After the pair of errors, Thrillville only trailed 5-2.
• O’Fallon got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth. Long started the inning off with a double, and, following a pair of strikeouts, Beatty drove Long in with a double of his own to up the Hoots’s lead to 6-2. 
• That lead grew in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Tyson Ludwig destroyed a solo shot into the left field stands, putting the score at 7-2. 

Up Next

The Alton River Dragons come to town Wednesday, Aug. 2, to take on the Hoots. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CST, and coverage can be found at ofallonhoots.com, as well as the team’s Twitter (@ofallonbaseball) and Instagram (ofallonhoots).